'Epic bag fumble in Chapel Hill': The coaches UNC could've hired over Bill Belichick will make Heels fans sick
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'Epic bag fumble in Chapel Hill': The coaches UNC could've hired over Bill Belichick will make Heels fans sick originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Things are not going too well for the North Carolina Tar Heels. During head coach Bill Belichick's first season in Chapel Hill last year, UNC finished 4-8, the worst record since Larry Fedora's 2-9 finish in 2018.
Although the team is 2-1 so far this season, the school recently parted ways with general manager Michael Lombardi after an internal investigation. Belichick's son, Steve, also resigned from the program, after he was placed on medical leave at the beginning of the season. The two were reportedly at the center of the school's investigation involving sex and drugs within the program.
UNC is expected to struggle during the 2026 season, which includes upcoming games against the likes of Notre Dame, Pitt, Miami and Louisville.
Belichick's struggles are even more apparent for UNC fans who watch as head coaching candidates that the school could have hired have excelled. The two big names include first-year head coach Jon Sumrall at Florida, and UCLA's Bob Chesney. Both coaches have gotten their teams off to great starts compared to what Belichick did in Year 1.
Let's take a look back at both guys being linked to the UNC job, and see how Belichick eventually won out.
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Did UNC interview Jon Sumrall?
North Carolina had begun to move on from Mack Brown in November of 2024. Although he was beloved by Tar Heel fans, he wasn't able to replicate the 9-5 mark he had in 2022 across his six seasons.
According to an ESPN report released in March of 2025, UNC athletic director Bubba Cunninghman had put together a list of over 30 potential replacements. The list included guys like Army head coach Jeff Monken, Sumrall, who had finished 9-4 during the regular season at Tulane, and Iowa State's Matt Campbell, now at Penn State.
Per their reporting, Campbell declined the interview request. Sumrall met with UNC leadership in Cunningham and chancellor Lee Roberts. But after that meeting, he withdrew his name from the search and ended up signing an extension with Tulane.
ESPN's report also adds that Cunningham was interested in former Atlanta Falcons head coach and Pittsburgh Steelers Arthur Smith, although he never formally interviewed. Also on his list was former Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees, who coached as an assistant at Notre Dame, Alabama and the Cleveland Browns.
Did UNC interview Bob Chesney?
One name noticeably absent from ESPN's list of candidates was Bob Chesney, who was the head coach at James Madison at the time. He is now at UCLA.
Chesney was a fast rising star among the coaching ranks, compiling 64-13 records at Assumption and Holy Cross, including multiple trips to the postseason. He was at JMU from 2023 and 2024.
In fact, UNC got a first-hand look at just how good of a coach Chesney is during the 2024 season. During a Week 4 game in Chapel Hill, Chesney's Dukes team upset the Tar Heels 70-50. The 53 points UNC's defense surrendered in the first half alone were a school record.
Even still, there are no reports indicating that Chesney interviewed for the UNC job.
Why UNC hired Bill Belichick
Instead of Cunningham leading the search, what ensued, per ESPN, was a separate coaching search steered entirely by UNC's board of trustees, which helps oversee the fundraising for major sports such as football. The board was committed to landing Belichick, whereas Cunningham was taking a more open-minded approach.
Belichick himself first expressed his interest in the open job reportedly through the likes of Senators Marco Rubio and Thom Thillis of North Carolina.
"Rubio follows the sports world pretty closely, and he called me and said, 'There's a chance Belichick would come to Chapel Hill,'" Tillis said via ESPN. "He said, 'He wants a school with a great academic reputation, and he wants to try to build a program to bring them a national championship. I said, 'Well, let me go [make some calls].'"
Things reportedly escalated when UNC officials and Belichick met in Dec. 5. At that point the thinking was that Belichick would use a UNC offer to leverage returning to the NFL. But UNC brass, without while Cunningham was still talking with potential candidates, made the unprecedented step of presenting the six-time Super Bowl winner an offer sheet. Via ESPN:
Cunningham continued to talk with other candidates, something that frustrated Preyer and other board members, who then took the unorthodox step of submitting what amounted to an offer sheet to Belichick's agent without Roberts' or Cunningham's approval.
This had two critical ripple effects: It scared off virtually all other serious options — with then-Cleveland Browns tight end coach Tommy Rees at that point viewed as the only remaining alternative — and it handed all the negotiating leverage to Belichick.
"It was obvious the UNC administration wanted Belichick by that time," a source said. "His side and UNC were just trying to hammer out all the details, which took some time because Belichick wanted a lot, but UNC also wanted to make sure they still had a horse in the race if Belichick left them at the altar."
Less than a week after that NYC meeting, Belichick was officially introduced as the Tar Heels' new head coach. His contract was a five-year, $50 million deal, making him one of the highest-paid head coaches in college football. The deal also included a $1.5 million annual salary for Lombardi, also one of the highest in the country for a GM.
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Bill Belichick record at UNC compared to runners-up
| Head Coach | Record* |
| Bill Belichick | 6-9 |
| Bob Chesney | 136-52 |
| Jon Sumrall | 47-12 |
| Matt Campbell | 110-71 |
*college football only
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